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insecurity in the South-West.
Oluwo expressed fear regards to the lesson he had learnt during the protracted Liberian war, described as “fresh” in his memory.
Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi, has reacted to the by Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi letter to Federal government cautioned him over his threat of war in the face of insecurity in the South-West.
Oluwo expressed fear regards to the lesson he had learnt during the protracted Liberian war, described as “fresh” in his memory.
This was contained in a statement by the Monarch issued on Sunday, reaction to the widely publicised letter the Alaafin of Oyo wrote and addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Alaafin said that the Yoruba had all it takes to resort to self-help if the federal government does not guarantee the safety of lives and properties in the Southwest region.
But the Iwo monarch said he found himself in the thick of the Liberian war and fought on the side of Charles Taylor’s troop.
He acknowledged the concern which Adeyemi expressed in his letter to the president but added: “self-help or self-defence is not the solution to the insecurity, because no zone of the nation is exempted from the ongoing menace.
“War is easy to invite but difficult to chase away. During war, there is no law, except law of self-preservation which reduces social status to nothing as everybody would be struggling to remain alive.
“Parents would run for safety abandoning their children and property. Women and female children would be subjected to rape before their husbands and fathers with the fathers watching helplessly.
“I know what I passed through during Liberian War fighting on the side of Charles Taylor. That is more reason I would not subscribe to any call which encourages taking up arm to settle the insecurity problem which the entire country is currently facing.
“I am not undermining the intention of the Alaafin but as a war veteran, I am in the best position to offer appropriate advice. If I keep quiet over it and something untoward happens tomorrow, I would be irresponsible traditional ruler.
“I am repeating it that the cost of war is usually heavier than the cost of settlement.”
The monarch insisted that Yoruba and Fulani had enjoyed a good relationship for over 100 years, charging President Buhari to be more proactive in his nation-building efforts. He affirmed that Nigeria is a blessed country which should not be allowed to go the way of the former Soviet Union.
He added that the federal government should enforce “compulsory free education to Fulani children to secondary school level. This is a panacea to checkmate the elements hell-bent to tarnish their image among other tribes in the country. I am positive that this phase will pass, and Nigeria will remain indivisible.”
Another Letter of looming war to Buhari by Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi
Meanwhile, the letter, warning of looming war from the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, if the siege on Yorubaland by herdsmen and kidnappers are not taken serious by the president.
Oba Lamidi, who directed an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and warned him of looming anarchy in the country, lamented that President Buhari was not doing enough in addressing the menace.
The Oba, who also listed the recent spate of insecurity in Yorubaland by herdsmen and their collaborators, said Yorubas had all it takes to resort to self help, unless the security in the zone improves and people are guaranteed safety of their lives and property.
The letter which was titled, “Yoruba Question in Nigeria Conundrum”, read:, “I have never been timid or shy of my total support for the success of your administration to deliver the country to the Promised Land.
“My confidence had always been based on Your Excellency’s ability, fitness and competence in leading the country to the Promised Land, where Law and Order prevail, individual liberty is guaranteed, economic well-being of the citizens is assured.
“That my confidence in Your Excellency remains unshaken to date. In recent time however, I am worried about the security situation in the country, especially in the South West geo-political zone, nay the entire Yoruba-speaking area of the country including Kwara, Kogi and Edo states.
“This has to do with the incessant and increasing menace of Fulani herdsmen that have laid siege in almost all the highways of Yoruba land. Whether in Owo, Akure, Ilesa/Ife-Ibadan road or Ibarapa zone and Ijebu area of Ogun state, the story is the same.
“I have held series of consultations with opinion moulders and eminent Yoruba leaders across board about the menace of these cattle herdsmen with such assault like raping of our women and in some occasions, in the presence of their husbands. That is apart from massive destruction of our agricultural lands; which ultimately points to imminent starvation.
“On top of it all is the menace of professional kidnappers usually in military uniforms. What is more worrisome about the kidnapping notoriety is what looks like impunity which these kidnappers enjoy their nefarious activities.”
He said after due consultations with Yoruba leaders and as the pre-colonial head of the Yoruba nation, Alaafin said people are worried by the audacity of these lawless people in effecting their illegal acts in broad daylight on our usually bushy highways without any arm of security being able to do anything.
“Worse still is the confidence with which they demand ransoms and collect such illegal levies at designated spots without any arm of security being able to lay siege on them as it was the practice in the recent past.
“Now, we cannot even talk of parading suspects, when in actual sense, no major arrests have been made in this part of the country. Without arrests, we cannot talk of their facing of the law.
“Unfortunately, and painfully indeed, in the face of the apparent helplessness of our security agencies, where do we go from here?
“It is at the wake of this manifest frustration of our people that our people have found it unavoidable, even though reluctantly to resort to alternative measures to safeguard their lives and property.
“Suffice to say that in most part of Yoruba land, their pre-colonial military structures have not been totally collapsed. Hence, such structures like Odua People’s Congress, Agbekoya and other vigilante groups.
“Having stated the above, and having established my premise as a stakeholder in your administration in the firm belief that we all believe in the Nigeria project, kindly permit me, Mr President, to make the following points and submissions as the Alaafin of Oyo, the King and Head of all Yoruba at home and in the Diaspora and the Chief Custodian of Yoruba culture and values,” he noted.
He pointed out that the people of Yoruba land in the traditional six states of the South-West geo-political zone and extending to some parts of Kogi, Kwara and Edo states live in palpable fear because recent insecurity of lives and property they now witness on a daily basis and which is alien to them.
